Ravens' Jesse Minter Shouts Out Coaching Mentors

The Baltimore Ravens' newly-instated head coach took a few lessons along with him in the road to his first NFL job of the sort.

Jan 29, 2026; Owings Mills, MD, USA; Jesse Minter smiling during opening remarks at press conference at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images | Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images

Jesse Minter is officially the Baltimore Ravens' next head coach, and after the introductory media session welcoming the former Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator to the east coast, those covering or otherwise-following the Ravens got a clean look at their direct John Harbaugh replacement.

He's one of several coaches elevated into an NFL head coach for the first time amidst this active hiring cycle, but unlike a few of his peers, he's never served as a lead coach at any point across his two-decade-long road to Baltimore.

And he's not shy about the humble beginnings he came from, embracing a few of the role models he's looked up to along his journey. From his start as a defensive intern at Notre Dame, where he served under his father, decorated collegiate coordinator Rick Minter, all the way through the recent high-profile stops that ended up helping to secure the Ravens job, Minter wears his influences on his sleeve.

Aug 16, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter watches from the sidelines against the Los Angeles Rams in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Minter's Long Path to the NFL

He enjoyed an advantageous start to his coaching career in slotting in under his dad at Notre Dame. From there, he quickly parlayed that experience into filling in as a graduate assistant at Cincinnati, where the elder Minter once acted as the head coach between 1994-2003.

"The first half of my career, there was nobody more influential than my dad," he said. "He was the first person I worked for out of college, I was an intern for him, obviously we've been together at quite a few stops.

OCT. 3, 1998: Cincinnati coach Rick Minter looks dejected during the fourth quarter of a blowout loss to Louisville. Minter | Sam Upshaw Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK

But like most trying to break further into the business, the up-and-comer heard no shortage of rejection letters, and has reportedly held onto the dishonorable collection into his 40s. Clifton Brown of BaltimoreRavens.com asked Minter about how he's channeled that hoarding into his mindset, but the new head coach offered an alternative angle than many would have guessed upon first hearing that information.

"I think my mindset has shifted, maybe in the last five or six years, to away from proving people wrong and more to proving people right," he elaborated. "I think I've become a little bit more of an optimist, a positive thinker...stay humble, be where your feet are, and that's just a reminder of those different opportunities."

Taking Influence from Familiar Faces

Eventually, he worked his way into the NFL in accepting a defensive assistant role with Harbaugh's Ravens between 2017-20. From there, he made the leap from one Harbaugh to the other in joining brother Jim at Michigan, where he shined as a defensive coordinator for the eventual national-champion Wolverines in two more seasons at the NCAA level.

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Jesse Minter against the Washington Huskies during the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When the younger Harbaugh departed the college game for an NFL return, taking the lead gig with the Los Angeles Chargers, there was Minter to flourish in two more years as an impressive DC. He wasn't sure to forget those eight years alongside two of the most well-respected coaches in the business, throwing each of them credit in that opening presser.

"Then when I came here in 2017, kinda got alongside both Harbaughs over the last part of my career, so I would say those three have been very influential on me. All of their own different styles, so I've tried to take things from all of them that help prepare me to be myself and be the best head coach I can be."

Coach Minter on his coaching influences: pic.twitter.com/p5l5rOy7Or

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 29, 2026

His respect for the grind to get to where he is and that willingness to shout out those who enabled him to spread his coaching wings made it abundantly clear that he understands the stakes of the job he's accepted as well as his own identity. He's not here to be a Harbaugh stand-in, replicating what he's seen work under specific management. He's in Baltimore to call the defense, establish his own identity and restore the Ravens spirit into this iteration of the roster.

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